10 Things You Should Know About Guatemala

Guatemala is only about the size of Tennessee, but there is a lot going on here.  There is ancient history dating all the way back to the Maya civilization.  Now, there is a modern society with complex problems woven by corruption, malnutrition, and lack of education.

There are a lot of negative things on this list, but, hey, that's why there are Peace Corps volunteers here.  However, besides my actual house with my mom and my dad, I have never felt more at home anywhere.  The people are kind; the landscape is gorgeous; and there is a possibility of a very bright future for Guatemala.

Below each fact, I've put a link for an article with more information, on the off chance that you want to learn more, or you're just having a boring Tuesday night. 

Another volunteer, who works in a health center, noticed that they were handing out flyers of information with a bibliography.  The bibliography listed one source: "google.com".  Full disclosure, I did use Google, but I've included slightly more specific web addresses, in case you actually want to find the articles.

1.  A Gallup poll in 2012 ranked Guatemala as the 7th most positive country in the world.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/159254/latin-americans-positive-world.aspx

2.  Ríos Montt, former leader of Guatemala, was the first former head of state to face trial for genocide in a national court, as opposed to an international court.  He was found guilty this month.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/05/the-maya-genocide-trial.html

3.  Guatemala's gruesome, 36-year-long civil war ended in 1996.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/latin_america/jan-june11/timeline_03-07.html

4.  60% of the country's population is indigenous.  73% of the indigenous population is poor, while 35% of the non-indigenous population is poor.
http://www.iwgia.org/regions/latin-america/guatemala/868-update-2011-guatemala

5.  Guatemala's rate of malnourishment in children is the 6th highest in the world.
http://www.economist.com/node/14313735

6.  Guatemala's rate of obesity in adults is the 10th highest in the world.  How can one country be both obese and malnourished?? The answer is simple: carbohydrates.  Rice, bread, tortillas, potatoes, and corn are used to ward off hunger in the most affordable manner possible.
http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=351269&CategoryId=12394

7.  Some Guatemalans still claim that Belize is part of Guatemala.  The dispute may be settled as early as this year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belizean-Guatemalan_territorial_dispute

8. Guatemala is the world's second greatest exporter of high quality coffee, after Columbia.
http://www.avivara.org/aboutguatemala/coffeeinguatemala.html

9.  75% of the cocaine that arrives in the US passes through Guatemala and it has been estimated that 60% of the country is controlled by drug traffickers.  (Don't worry, Mom, not where I'm living.)
www.ghrc-usa.org/Publications/NarcoTraficofactsheet.pdf

10. Remittences in Guatemala are equivalent to 1/10 of GDP.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html

Talk to you soon!  I can't believe I've been in my site for almost one month!  Time is flying!